Slocum Gliders

An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (UAV) called the Slocum Glider has been
under development for several years. The most unique
aspect of the winged, torpedo-shaped, UAV is a thermal engine that draws
energy from ocean
thermoclines (the temperature differences between warm surface water and
cooler deep water). The robots are designed to remain at sea for years,
gathering data
that previously required expensive, manned vessels.
Pilot experiments using the Gliders have been done in Bermuda
and Nantucket
Shoals. Soon hundreds of Slocum Gliders will be dispersed throughout
the worlds oceans, providing oceanographers with information of
unprecedented quantity and quality.